Today, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a case that had already been won in lower courts, allowing the ruling to stand, though without ruling or commenting on the underlying issues of the case as more trans rights cases no doubt head their way. Still, it’s a big win for Gavin Grimm, a transgender man who has been at the center of this case since he was a teen. In 2016, he sued the Virginia Gloucester County School District after being barred from using the boys’ bathrooms in his high school.
In 2018, a U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Virginia judge ruled that, under Title IX, the school could not discriminate against Grimm on the basis of sex. After the ruling, Grimm reportedly said he felt an “incredible sense of relief,” according to the BBC. He also said, “After fighting this policy since I was 15 years old, I finally have a court decision saying that what the Gloucester County School Board did to me was wrong and it was against the law.”
According to NBC News, back when Grimm was transitioning, the school board adopted a policy saying they were limiting the restrooms “to the corresponding biological genders.” It was then, and still remains to this day, an ignorant, hateful decision by the school board that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) took on as a means of protects Grimm’s civil liberties. They told the courts that Grimm being forced to use the nurse’s room or the girl’s room was humiliating for the young man. It also interfered with his education and singled him out amongst his classmates as someone who was the other, something Grimm did not need while transitioning.
Grimm took to Twitter to celebrate the historic win and said that he was “honored to have been part of this victory.”
There are just too many people to tag. Too many people played integral roles in our success and too many people who loved me so much. I have nothing more to say but thank you, thank you, thank you. Honored to have been part of this victory.
— Gavin Grimm 🏳️⚧️ (@GavinGrimmVA) June 28, 2021
The ACLU’s Josh Block, according to NBC News, said of the Supreme Court decision, “This is an incredible victor for Gavin and for transgender students around the country.” And Grimm said, “Trans youth deserve to use the bathroom in peace without being humiliated and stigmatized by their own school boards and elected officials.”
(image: Santiago Felipe/Getty)
Want more stories like this? Become a subscriber and support the site!
—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—
